Home Minister Tito Karnavian (left) pins a badge to Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf (second left) during the inauguration of Aceh governor and deputy governor in Banda Aceh on Feb. 12. Tito inaugurated Muzakir and his deputy Fadhlullah (second right) as the province's gubernatorial pair after they won the province's regional head election in November 2024. - Photo: Antara file
JAKARTA: The Home Ministry’s recent decision to place four long-disputed islands under North Sumatra’s administration despite competing claims from Aceh has sparked tension between the two provinces, with critics accusing the move of being politically motivated.
On April 25, the Home Ministry issued a decree declaring Lipan Island, Panjang Island, Mangkir Besar Island and Mangkir Kecil Island, located along the border between Central Tapanuli Regency in North Sumatra and Aceh Singkil Regency in Aceh, as part of North Sumatra.
Home Minister Tito Karnavian said the decision was made after a lengthy process involving eight central government institutions, including the Geospatial Information Agency, the Navy Hydro-Oceanography Center and the Army Topography Directorate.
“The process to resolve the dispute has been ongoing for a long time, well before I became Home Minister in 2019. Since both regencies were unable to reach an agreement on their maritime boundaries, the matter was referred to the central government,” he said on Tuesday (June 10), as quoted by Kompas.
According to the Home Ministry, the border dispute began in 2007, with both Aceh and North Sumatra claiming ownership of the islands.
Since then, the Home Ministry has issued at least three decrees, in 2017, 2021 and 2022, declaring the islands as part of North Sumatra.
However, each decree was challenged by the Aceh administration.
Home Ministry officials stated that the decision to place the four uninhabited islands under North Sumatra’s administration was based on their geographic position, as they are located directly off the coast of Central Tapanuli.
When the land boundary between Aceh Singkil and Central Tapanuli was extended into the sea, the four islands were also found to fall within North Sumatra’s maritime territory, the ministry said.
The latest Home Ministry decree assigning the disputed islands to North Sumatra’s administration has sparked widespread backlash in Aceh, with several regional leaders and prominent figures publicly criticizing the decision.
Critics claim the government unlawfully “took” the islands from Aceh, arguing the move was politically motivated.
They allege that Minister Tito aims to gift the islands to North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution, son-in-law of former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, amid speculation that the islands hold substantial untapped oil and gas reserves.
Minister Tito is known to be within former President Jokowi’s close circle.
Sudirman, a member of the Regional Representative Council (DPD RI) from Aceh, has urged the Home Ministry “to return” the four islands to Aceh, citing a 1992 agreement between Aceh and North Sumatra that determined the islands belong to Aceh.
“We urge the Home Ministry to respect Aceh’s dignity, honour existing agreements, and refrain from taking any actions that could harm the good relations between both provinces,” Sudirman said on Wednesday as quoted by Kompas.
Syakir, Head of the Bureau of Governance and Regional Autonomy at the Aceh Secretariat, stated that the Aceh administration will continue to push for a review of the Home Ministry’s decree regarding the status of the four islands.
He explained that the dispute originated from an administrative error during a 2009 coordinate verification process intended to determine the maritime boundary between provinces.
Since then, the Aceh Administration had repeatedly sent letters to the Home Ministry to correct the mistake.
“There is extensive documentation showing that the four islands belong to Aceh Province, including land ownership certificates dating back to 1965. Many facilities on the islands, such as monuments and piers, were also built by the Aceh government,” he said on June 4.
Governor Bobby visited Aceh on June 4 to meet with Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf, offering a proposal for Aceh and North Sumatra to jointly manage resources on the four islands, including any potential oil and gas reserves.
"We must respect the Home Ministry’s decision, but Aceh and North Sumatra are deeply connected. Many Acehnese live in North Sumatra and vice versa. We need to ease public tension and calm the controversy surrounding this issue," he said at the time.
"The question is no longer about who owns the islands, but how we can share their resources," he added.
He also urged residents in both provinces not to be provoked by the Home Ministry’s recent decision and to continue maintaining social harmony.
Some observers have expressed concern that the Home Ministry’s decision could trigger political instability in Aceh and create space for deeper social and political divisions.
Aceh experienced a long-running insurgency from the 1970s until 2005, led by the now-dissolved Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
The three-decade armed conflict between the Indonesian government and GAM separatists claimed at least 15,000 lives and only came to an end with the signing of the Helsinki Peace Agreement in 2005.
Minister Tito stated that the central government remains “open” to reviewing the decision regarding the status of the four islands.
“We welcome any legal challenge to the decree. I have no personal interest in this matter, my only goal is to resolve the long-standing border dispute in the region,” he said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
